The Young and the Youkai
by Fluffy's Lady
Summary: A catch-all basically for little one-shot, song-fics based in the IY realm. Some include only my OCs and some have Rumiko's characters in them as well. Up first: Cowboy's Back In Town. OC/OC


Hi! :D This is my revamped version of a song-fic. This story is best understood when listening to "Cowboy's Back in Town" by Trace Adkins. I realize not many people know these characters (as they are my original characters), but a couple people out there might know who they are. Elizabeth is one of the "products" of my first OC FL and InuPapa. Ah, FL and her conniving ways can get anything she wants. lol

Warning: The song is really addictive. You might end up listening to it on repeat over _checks her iTunes_ 3,000 times (and counting)!

_Cowboy's Back In Town…_

Elizabeth shifted in her seat, glancing at the clock. _I wish I had the ability to make time move faster. I hate that it moves so slow! _Her slender fingers clicked over the keyboard as she griped in her head. It just wasn't fair. Johnathan couldn't come in this weekend. Something had happened out at his family's ranch and he had to stick around and help. She just wanted him back with her. She sighed for the umpteenth time, clearly aggravated at the turn of events.

"Liz? Are you alright?" the young woman across from her asked as she heard the other girl sigh.

"No, not really. But there's nothing you can do about so don't bother," Elizabeth said, a little shorter than she intended. Growling under her breath at the human girl's hurt expression, she sighed again. "I'm sorry, Tina. I didn't mean it like that."

"Do you want to talk about it?" The human absolutely _knew_ that this had something to do with her coworker's biweekly disappearances. Every other weekend, Elizabeth would clear her schedule and not answer any of her calls or texts. The following Monday, she'd show up with the biggest, dumbest grin on her face and would practically _float_ all day long. No one bothered to ask her any questions anymore. It was pointless. Liz never answered any of them.

Elizabeth gave the girl a look before turning back to her desk. "No. Not particularly." It wasn't that she was embarrassed by her relationship with Johnathan. He was her cowboy and she his high-rise girl. Simple as that. But, she wanted to keep him to herself. Who knew what would happen if she introduced all these horny and power-hungry bitches to her cowboy? She didn't want to find out.

The clock finally turned its hand to the five, a few hours after her "conversation" with Tina. The young woman slowly stood and put her things together. Logging off her computer, she turned to face Tina, feigning surprise when she found the young woman standing in her doorway.

"It's a man, isn't it?" Tina accused, watching Liz closely. If it was, so help her she was going to meet this man that kept Liz's attention! He _had_ to be a hunk.

The young inuyoukai arched a brow at the woman across from her. "Whether it is or it isn't, I don't see how it's any of your business." She tried to move past the human, but was stopped when the girl put her arm out.

"It _is!_" she cried triumphantly. "I knew it! And you're totally in love with him, I can tell."

_That_ stopped Elizabeth cold. Her? In love with Johnathan? She didn't think so… As she opened her mouth to deny the accusation, though, Tina cut her off.

"You are! I can tell you are. You come in here every other Monday and practically drift on cloud nine all day long! It's written all over your face after your weekend getaways!" The human practically jumped up and down in excitement over her "discovery." She couldn't wait to tell the other girls in the office! Oh this news was big.

Elizabeth glared at the annoying human, half wishing she had her oldest brother's cold heart to go along with her murderous tendencies. _Wouldn't Sesshomaru be so proud to see me kill this annoying girl without a thought. He certainly would have been a couple hundred years ago._ She pushed past the girl, this time without stopping, and strode out of the offices only to have to stop and wait for the elevator. The young woman huffed, debating on whether or not to take the stairs when the doors opened.

Once everyone in the crowded car had emptied out, she stepped inside and closed the doors just as the annoying girl from her office arrived. She smirked and mockingly waved goodbye as the doors sealed and she was carried down to the bottom floor. Relaxing against the wall, she stared up at the metal ceiling, just thinking for a few minutes.

_Me? In love with Johnathan? I don't think I am. I mean, I was in love with Cliff and this doesn't feel anything like that._ Of course, she reasoned, Cliff was a nice-guy and Johnathan…Johnathan was a hunter. _That sounds about right. He's so determined for a human! It's refreshing. _He made her feel special, sure, but every guy was supposed to. _But Cliff had never tried to take me home with him every time we left a date. I mean, on date one, Johnathan asked to take me home._ It wouldn't have been very sensible of her, so she had refused.

The elevator dinged open, interrupting her thoughts. She hummed softly to herself as she slid into her Eclipse GT Spyder, put the top down and peeled out of the parking lot. She drove through town, not thinking about much except her love life.

_Even after I refused, he still asks me every weekend he's here. No matter how many times I turn him down, he just smiles and says he'll be in weekend after next. _She shivered, already missing his arms that would have wrapped around her when she was cold. "_One day," I keep telling him, "One day I might go with you."_ The young woman sighed as she pulled into her apartment parking lot. Maybe it would have been tonight if he was coming in this weekend. She missed him so much when he was gone. It was almost a physical ache.

She exited the little car as soon as the top was up, locking it and heading for the stairwell to her apartment. Her large apartment was on the third floor and she grumbled as she climbed one step at a time. Despite her paying nearly one-thousand dollars a month for the place, it was still taking the management a long time to fix the elevator.

The apartment was a comfortable temperature as Lizzie entered it and greeted her ecstatic Papillion. The little dog danced on her back legs, her black and brown tail wagging wildly as she yipped for her owner's attention. The inuyoukai chuckled and scooped the puppy up, paying the little dog all the attention it had asked for and more.

Dinner was a simple affair—a frozen Lean Cuisine that she nuked in the microwave, a glass of Coke Zero and some television while she snuggled on the couch in her pajamas. Around nine, she turned off the television and just stared out her window. It almost looked like noon, it was so bright from all the city lights. Not to mention all the headlights flashing through the window, car alarms going off and stray animals fighting for any scrap of food they could find.

Elizabeth was getting tired of all the city pomp and circumstance. She missed the quiet countryside of her parents' home where the smells in the air were natural. Horses, a few cattle, working dogs, her family and all the other animals that lived in the woods surrounding the large house. There was nothing like it.

"I need the love he brings like the desert needs the rain…" she murmured softly. Suddenly, her face turned a dark, dark shade of red and she groaned. "Oh god. I _am_ in love with him if I turned poetic!" Well, that settled it. The next time he came in, she was going home with him.

To prove it to herself, she pulled out her suitcases from the closets and began to pack up all the clothes she had. She left out just enough to last her another two weeks. The old boxes that she had used when she moved were pulled out of the storage area and everything else was packed up too. It was around three the following afternoon when Lizzie finally decided to take a break.

She plopped onto her bed, intending only to breathe for a moment. However, stress and several days without even a wink of sleep carried her off to dreamland in no time. Normally, she only slept when Johnathan was here. He made her feel safe. _Should have seen that as a sign,_ was her last coherent thought before she was asleep.

*.*.*.*Cowboy*.*.*.*

Johnathan growled under his breath, banging the steering wheel of his truck again. Dammit! This was supposed to be his weekend with Beth, but someone had cut the fences on his dad's property and quite a few of the cattle had escaped. He had been needed to help get all of them back. It took all of Friday and most of Saturday but once they had finally retrieved all but one or two of the cattle and moved them to another pasture, it was far too late for him to go. He missed her so much. Hell, he _loved_ the crazy girl. He didn't care that she was human. He just loved her. His sister was still doubtful, considering his reputation as a "use her and lose her" type of guy, that this girl even existed. But he didn't care. He just knew he wanted her by his side forever.

That thought brought him up short a bit. As much as both youkai and human societies had advanced in the past few hundred years, there was still no cure for human mortality. He sighed. Well, he'd have to accept whatever fate decided to grace him with. Sixty years or six years, it didn't matter to him. He just wanted her as his wife and mate. A little weight in his pocket shifted as he hit another bump on the dirt road.

That ring _was_ going to go on her finger tonight, if he hadn't been stopped from visiting her by a stupid would-be cattle thief. He glanced at the clock. Two-thirty in the afternoon. It would be close to ten at night if he left right now. Johnathan took a whiff of himself and wrinkled his nose. He needed a shower. He stank like cattle, horses and sweat. He looked at the clock again.

"Fuck showering," he groused and took a right on the main road instead of a left that would have taken him back to his own modest ranch. He wanted to see his girl, so he was going to. It was a little after ten when he pulled into her apartment complex and parked right by her sporty little car. He chuckled at it. It may have more horsepower than his truck, but you couldn't haul anything with it. He could barely fit in it. Plus, she loved his truck more. He shut the door and looked around. No one was outside. Everyone was asleep or minding their own business.

He crouched, judging the distance from where he was at to her balcony. After a minute, he sprang and landed neatly on the railing. The wolf stepped down onto the cold concrete and quietly slid open the sliding glass door. He grinned at the little dog that came up to meet him, her tail wagging as she sneezed sleepily. Normally, he hated mortal dogs. But Sister, Sister minded her manners and paid him all due respect. So, he tolerated her.

The youkai patted her head gently and walked on, sniffing out his woman. He looked around the apartment, frowning a bit at all the boxes and suitcases that were haphazardly thrown together. Was she moving? She hadn't said anything about that the last time he was in. The young male shrugged it off, figuring he'd ask her later after she woke up. He poked his head into the bedroom, smirking a bit when he found his high-rise girl sprawled out on her king-sized bed.

The six-foot-two, black-haired, brown-eyed wolf youkai chuckled as he shucked his boots, dropped his jacket and hat on top of them before climbing into bed with his girl. He pulled her into his side, wrapping his arms around her and burying his nose in her hair. She smelled like…the morning dew on the grass outside his house. Which was funny considering she lived in the city. Still, he loved it.

He drifted in and out of sleep, but mostly stayed awake. He had to watch over his Beth after all. The city wasn't a place to trust anyone. Johnathan came wide awake, though, when Lizzie rolled over and opened her rusty-gold eyes up at him.

"Hey, Gorgeous," he grinned down at her. Leaning down, he pressed a needy kiss to her lips, repressing a growl when she eagerly responded. God she tasted so good! His hands ran down her body, grasping her almost non-existent rear and pulling her closer.

When they finally pulled apart for air, Lizzie gasped and grinned up at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and burrowed closer to his warmth. Her nose wrinkled a bit when she caught wind of him.

Johnathan grinned a bit at the face she made. "Want me to shower? I just got through helping at my dad's ranch. Somebody cut our fences and tried to steal the cattle. I was about to head home when I decided to come here and see you."

Elizabeth grinned up at him. He didn't realize this smell was _exactly _what she was missing. "No. You smell just fine to me." She kissed him again, moaning slightly when his hips rolled into hers. "I missed this smell."

He arched a dark eyebrow and chuckled, laying open mouth kisses along her neck. "Oh?"

"Yeah. I grew up in the country surrounded by horses, dogs, barn cats and a few cattle. I miss the smell of the trees and grass, the saddle leather smell in the tack room and the fresh cut hay that floats around for days after they cut it." Her eyes glossed over a bit as she imagined being back on her parents' ranch. She wondered if her old mare had ever been bred.

This was news to Johnathan, but good news. That meant she was more than likely going to be perfectly at home on his spread. The only thing holding them back from bliss together was his secret. He hadn't exactly revealed to her his near-immortal status as a youkai yet. He hadn't even hinted at it. Still, if she loved him like she seemed to, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Beth?" he grinned down at her as he slowly separated their bodies. It took all he had to leave her side, even for a minute. She felt _so good_ next to him and wrapped up in his arms.

She scowled cutely as he left the bed before frowning a bit at something he grabbed from his jacket pocket. "What, John? What's up?"

The youkai male sat on the bed beside his chosen girl. He reached out with one toned arm and pulled her to his side. Leaning down, he pressed another heated kiss to her lips before pulling back just enough to talk.

"I love you."

It was silent for a small moment after the dual-confession. Both stared at each other with wide eyes, neither knowing who spoke first. Elizabeth was the first to break eye contact, blushing a dark red and dropping her eyes. She had never told a man she loved him although she'd had countless guys tell her they loved her.

She heard a small creak of hinges before feeling something cold and solid slide against her left ring finger. A breath escaped her lips as she set her eyes upon an absolutely _gorgeous_ diamond big enough for her to go skating on. An eight carat diamond on a simple white gold band now rested against her skin. Her eyes teared up a little as she looked from the ring to her smirking cowboy.

Johnathan slid to the floor in front of her, took her hands in his larger ones and looked up into her eyes.

"Elizabeth Cary Taishou, will you marry me?" His brown eyes locked with hers as they widened in shock and a tad of disbelief.

No matter how many guys had wanted to date her, for her status in the youkai world or her status in the human one, no one had ever asked to marry her. She was pretty sure there were a few attempts at making her pregnant so she would _have _to marry the guy, but they all failed. It was a new feeling to her to be wanted this badly.

"Yes!" she breathed, drawing him up and kissing him soundly. "Yes, you idiot! Yes, I'll marry you."

Johnathan whooped as he scooped her up and spun her around a couple times before setting her back down. He grinned broadly, leaning in for yet another kiss. His tongue slid inside her mouth, dancing with hers before they parted for air once more. He laid open mouthed kisses all along her jaw and down her throat.

Lizzie had to work hard not to growl in pleasure at the feelings he was creating in her. It wouldn't do any good to scare off her boyfriend, err, _fiancé,_ before she had a chance to explain. And boy would she have some explaining to do. Very, very few humans knew about youkai. Even less could quietly accept that there is another "intelligent" species in the world aside from them. Still, she looked forward to a long, long life with him. At this moment, she was never more thankful that her mother had invented that longevity serum. A little bit of her blood and a little bit of his blood mixed with the potion then injected into his bloodstream would tie his life to hers. As long as she lived, so would he.

They pulled apart for air, panting and grinning wildly at each other. Elizabeth decided it was now or never. Do or die before she got _too_ attached to the man before her. She sat back down on the bed, pulling her fiancé down beside her. She nuzzled under his chin, nipping a bit at his jaw line.

"Johnathan? I have a confession," she whispered, nervous about the possibility of his rejection. Her hands fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Her gold eyes locked on the picture of her and Johnathan together at the county fair.

"Hm? What is it, Beth?" Johnathan was very distracted with all the nipping and nuzzling, so he didn't notice the slight tremor in her voice or the nervousness in her scent.

"First, promise me that you won't freak out, 'kay? And that you won't tell anyone." His promise _had _to be secured before she went on. She knew she could trust Johnathan's word if he gave it. Her secret was safe with him if he promised.

Johnathan pulled back, separating their bodies a bit. His brown eyes looked into her gold ones, finally realizing just now nervous his fiancé was. He had absolutely no clue what she was going to tell him, but he wanted to help her with it if it made her this nervous. Hell, at this point he didn't care if she was going to tell him she was a three-horned toad with tadpoles on the way. Well, maybe that was stretching it a little. But still, he didn't like her being upset.

"Sure, Beth, you outta know that by now. You don't want me tellin', ain't nobody gonna find out from me." His promise was his word and his word was his reputation. And although his reputation as a bit of a womanizer was known, nobody ever found out from _him_ who he had slept with. The girls could tell anyone they wanted, he didn't care, but he wouldn't tell. He wrapped his arms around her once more, holding her close. "So what is it you wanna tell me?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath, working up the courage to say what had to be said before their relationship went any farther.

"I'm not human." There, she said it. It was out there in the open. No going back now.

Johnathan blinked and frowned a bit, giving his fiancé a sideways glance. "What do you mean, you're 'not human'? Last time I checked you were pretty human." He inhaled her scent, taking in all the smells and everything it told him—including the scent of slow decay. The mark of mortality.

The young woman shook her head, biting her lip and biting back the fear of rejection. "I'm not human, Cowboy. I'm a youkai. A physical manifestation of a spirit basically. There's many different kinds of youkai…I'm an inu youkai. A dog spirit, to be really simple." She peaked at him from the corner of her eye, nervous about what he would say or do.

Johnathan just sat there, stunned. An inu youkai? He still wasn't convinced until Beth removed the black stud that always rested in the cartilage of her right ear. Before his very eyes, her hair gained a new luster, her eyes shone with a much more predatory sheen, her once-human ears elongated to a fine point, her heady scent lost the stench of slow decay and delicate looking fangs peeked out when she gave him a shy smile. For a moment, he had nothing to say before reality sank in and he began to laugh. Outrageously laugh. Lizzie chuckled unsurely, still not confident in her decision to reveal herself. After a good minute of laughter, he smiled brighter than he ever had.

Grabbing his fiancé, he landed a rough, needy kiss on her mouth, growling deeply with pleasure when she responded eagerly. He smirked when she pulled back and slapped him, laughing harder when she growled back at him. The wolf youkai reached under his shirt and removed the dog tags that always hung around his neck. As with Elizabeth, he underwent a sudden change. The most obvious, though, was the scent of wolf that now hung around him as well as the pointed ears and deadly-looking fangs.

"You Jackass!" Elizabeth cried in frustration and relief. How in the hell could she, daughter of the greatest Inu-no-Taishou there ever was not smell (or see) through a simple concealment spell? "How come you didn't tell me?"

"Well why didn't you tell me?" Johnathan retorted. He grinned at her angered and dumbfounded face. "Exactly, Beth. We both know it's dangerous to tell _anyone _about us. Especially someone we let so close. Who knows what could happen if I told a girl then dumped her? She could easily go to the government. And you know how much they hate and fear anything out of the ordinary." The young man pulled his fiancé into his arms, brushing his lips across her chin and laying open-mouthed kisses along her neck.

Elizabeth sniffed indignantly but relaxed in her mate-to-be's arms. "Whatever. So where's your place at, Cowboy? You've always offered to take me there but never have." She tucked her head under his chin, whuffing softly as she curled into his chest.

Johnathan chuckled and gently nipped the shell of her pointed ear. "That's because you've always refused, High-rise-girl."

The inuyoukai female rolled her eyes, nipping at his shoulder in return. "Well I'm not now, am I? Didn't you see the boxes, Cowboy? I'm tired of the city. I want to be back in the country." She paused and inhaled deeply—taking in his scent of windswept grass and smoldering embers. "With you."

The wolf youkai smirked and turned Elizabeth around to where he could kiss her once more. "Anything for you, Beth."


End file.
